The Color of our Mana
by TheRedSeraphim
Summary: Our colors could define our very beings...and sometimes, they could change... or...is it that we have more than just one?
1. Chapter 1: The boy with fiery hair

RS: I'm going to do a self-insert

**RS: I'm going to do a self-insert! I don't care what my sibling says!**

**Lloyd: What did they say?**

**RS: My sibling said that nobody likes self-inserts.**

**Lloyd: …I do.**

**RS: So do I! That's why I need you to say the disclaimer.**

**Lloyd: Sure. Red Seraphim owns nothing of Tales of Symphonia, but he does own his character.**

**RS: Yeah! Go Erythro!**

Chapter 1: The boy with the fiery hair

Lloyd Irving was sleeping by the campfire, completely at ease next to its warmth. Then he sensed a movement behind him. He looked behind him, thinking it was Kratos, but saw a teen sized that was wearing a red cloak and had a bright red-and golden hair. It was odd feeling, but Lloyd had the most distinct impression that the boy's hair crackled and moved like a fire. Then he saw a strange, half-dagger, half-sword in the boy's hand, and he sprang into action.

"Hey!" Lloyd shouted. He sprang up, grabbing one of his swords and grabbed the boy by his collar of his cloak, and at the same time, he rose his sword point to the boy's throat.

"You're Lloyd Irving. Age: 17. Gender: Male. Height: 5 feet, 8 inches. Weight: 128 pounds. Present situation: Taking care of what he supposes to be a threat. Good. Just like they told me you would be." The boy said, completely calm, even though there was a sword tip that could take off his head at any moment.

Lloyd's eyes widened. "How…" He started.

Kratos appeared behind Lloyd. "What have you got there, Lloyd?" Kratos asked.

"Some weird kid. He just said my name, age, gender, height, weight, and what I was doing. Like one of those things, what do you call 'em?" Lloyd asked.

"Robots. Boy." Kratos said.

The boy with the hair like fire looked at Kratos. "Kratos Aurion. Age: Classified. Gender: Male. Action at present: Classified." He stated.

Lloyd looked at Kratos. "What does he mean by you're age being 'classified'? He asked.

The boy looked at Lloyd. "They told me never to specify his actions, and they would not tell me his age." The boy said.

"What? Who? Who told you not to specify my actions?" Kratos asked, relieving Lloyd of the boy's cloak collar and took a firm grip of it in his own fingers.

"Cannot answer. Answer forbidden." The boy said.

Kratos's other hand drew out his stiletto and held the blade mere nanometers from the boy's left eye.

"Answer!" Kratos shouted at the boy.

Lloyd was about to startled at Kratos's sudden action, and he feared for the boy's sight. "Kratos-" Lloyd started.

"Answer me!" Kratos shouted.

The boy was silent a couple of moments more. "Desians." He said.

**RS: Yay!**

**Lloyd: What?**

**RS: For one thing, another chapter story, and another, my friend from Romania is coming tomorrow!**

**Lloyd: You're more excited that you have another chapter story?**

**RS: No, I just said that first. I see my friend once a year. I'm way happier to see him.**

**Lloyd: Good. You're moral compass is still working.**

**RS: Sigh, you sound like Kratos.**


	2. Chapter 2: Human Nature

RS: I finally learned how to make new chapters

**RS: I finally learned how to make new chapters!**

**Lloyd: Thank the Goddess Martel.**

**RS: You have too long a sentence of exasperation.**

**Lloyd: What?**

**RS: Just say the disclaimer.**

**Lloyd: 'Red Seraphim doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, but he does own his own character'.**

Chapter 2: Human Nature

Lloyd was immediately on his guard when he heard the boy say 'Desians'. He picked up his other sword, and moved to the other side of the boy, just in case the boy somehow escaped Kratos's grasp.

"Did the Desians send you here?" Kratos asked.

The boy seemed to consider this question for a moment, breaking his robotic expression for the merest second. "Yes." He said.

"To follow us?" Kratos asked, continuing to question the boy.

"Yes, and to attempt an assassination of Lloyd Irving." The boy answered.

Lloyd took the boy from Kratos and looked deep into the boy's eyes. The boy seemed to melt under the gaze that he met in those eyes. "Why did the Desians send you here to kill me?!" He yelled into the boy's face.

The boy whimpered. He seemed to have come out of his robotic state when he had seen the fury in Lloyd's eyes. "Where- where am I?!" He shouted in an ecstasy of fright.

"Don't play that game with me!" Lloyd shouted. He seized the boy by the throat and held a sword dangerously close to the boy's Adam's-apple.

The boy, far from being extremely calm under almost the same treatment from Kratos, started to cry, almost cutting his own throat when he started to try and fold his body into the fetal position. He started to say a word that Lloyd half-identified as 'help', but it eventually just turned into as high-pitched scream.

Kratos rushed over to Lloyd and retched the boy away from Lloyd and his blades. "Lloyd! He really doesn't know what you are talking about! Don't hurt him!" He shouted.

Lloyd just stood there, stunned. He had never acted like that before. Never. He could have never killed in cold blood before. But now…

Kratos sat the boy down and tried to make eye-contact with the boy, but the boy was staring steadily at the ground, unmoving.

"What's your name?" Kratos asked, with a calm and assuring tone.

The boy took a couple of deep breaths and then he spoke. "Erythro." He answered very quickly, as if he was afraid that he would get hurt if he answered too slowly.

"Calm down, Erythro. Calm…" Kratos said, soothingly.

Erythro took a few more breaths.

"Good…good…" Kratos said, encouraging Erythro to take his breaths a little more slowly.

"Now, why were you trying to find Lloyd?" Kratos asked.

"I…I can't…" The boy started.

Kratos sighed, as if he had expected that answer, but he was still sorry to hear it. He rummaged through one of their traveling packs, and he handed the boy a blanket. "Here. Rest." Kratos said to Erythro.

Erythro nodded, then he folded the blanket into the crude shape of a pillow, then he lay down by the fire and fell asleep.

Kratos walked over to Lloyd, who was still standing in the spot where he had been contemplating where his moral compass had gone slightly askew.

"Lloyd?" Kratos asked quietly.

Lloyd didn't answer.

"Lloyd…" Kratos said.

"I…I was going to kill him…I was going to cut his throat, Kratos. I was going to kill him!" He whispered, growing louder with each sentence.

"Shh. Shh. Calm down." Kratos said softly.

Lloyd took some deep breaths, just like the boy Erythro had done. His breathing eventually slowed, and he calmed down.

"What happened, Lloyd?" Kratos asked, calmly.

"I…I thought he was a Desian…I thought he was one…I thought he was responsible for my mom's death." Lloyd said slowly.

Kratos's face hardened. "Lloyd. Not all the Desians killed you're mother. There were probably no more than seven Desians. And, if she was extremely important to their operation, they would send one of their Cardinals. No more then a party of eight." Kratos said.

Lloyd stared into the fire. "But…he was working for the Desians…" Lloyd said.

"No, not willingly." Kratos said. "Do you know why he was acting extremely robotic? He was under a form of hypnosis - a kind that would make a sort of that they use to make shock troops. They change them into soldiers so they can decrease their own casualties." Kratos said, with the slightest hint of contempt in his voice.

Lloyd shuddered, and then he made a sort of soft wailing sound. Kratos put a hand on Lloyd's back as he sat there, weeping.

**RS: These chapters are pretty short.**

**Lloyd: Yeah, but hey, you've never really done this before, right?**

**RS: Yeah, but I used to be able to write a couple of pages worth in the free time I had a school.**

**Lloyd: Red, those stories, frankly, didn't make any sense at all. They changed with you're experiences of the day, and the plot was totally un-constant.**

**RS: …Yeah, but they were still a couple of pages.**

**Lloyd: Red, 15 pages of ramblings are worth a single paragraph of good sense.**

**RS: …Mmm. Whatever.**


	3. Chapter 3: Lloyd's Colors And Nature

**RS: Awesome!**

**Lloyd: What? Why are you so happy?**

**RS: My friend's coming over today!**

**Lloyd: Good. I thought you were going to say that you have actually started to make a third chapter.**

**RS: Nope. Now, say the disclaimer.**

**Lloyd: 'Red Seraphim doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, but he does own his own character.**

**RS: Please tell me if you think that Erythro isn't acting like a normal kid! I think my characters are too naïve or robotic, but I can never tell when they start to act like that!**

Chapter 3: Lloyd's Colors don't match his Nature

The next morning, Kratos was cooking some rice balls for the group when the boy got up. His hair was together crazed like it had been shot with electricity, as well as oily, as if the boy had not bathed in a couple of days. In fact, he smelled the same.

Kratos called to the boy. "Erythro, go to the lake, get a bath!" He called.

Erythro put up his hand to show that he had heard Kratos and headed over to the lake. Kratos continued to pack the rice balls into almost perfect spheres.

Lloyd awoke to the sound of a fire crackling and the smell of rice. As soon as he was awake enough to think, he looked to where the boy had been sleeping. When he saw that the boy was not there, he grabbed his swords. But he was stopped by Kratos.

"I sent him to go to have a bath. He smelled horrible." Kratos said with a grin.

Lloyd still looked concerned. "What if he tries to run away?" Lloyd asked, not with concerned, but more of a cold, calculating tone. Lloyd realized what he sounded like, and he shook himself, as if he wanted to rid himself of the spiteful tone.

Kratos saw what Lloyd did, but merely answered Lloyd's stated question. "I don't think that he would try. He's probably won't have anywhere to go, and a travel party with warriors is what he will assume to be the safest way to get to where he wants to go. He would do wisest – which is to with every frickin' girl in the villages. Man I want his life! Uh besides the part where he has a million people trying to assassinate him." Kratos said.

Lloyd looked at Kratos, and then Erythro came by and smacked him. Kratos shook himself.

Lloyd looked at Erythro. "Why did you do that?" Lloyd asked, utterly confused.

"I don't know; my arm just kind of went and went out and smacked him. It seemed the right thing to do at the time." Erythro said.

Kratos nodded. "It felt as if something else was in me…something other than the real me."

"Let me check." Erythro said. He closed his eyes, and crouched into a bowing position. And then he opened his eyes, and they seemed to be surrounded by a reddish light.

Then, it was gone as soon as Erythro blinked. He looked at Kratos, and then he spoke. "You were right. You were covered with a mana that wasn't your own. You're mana is bright red, but you were covered with a yellow mana." He stated.

Kratos's mouth dropped the smallest millimeter. "What do you mean, 'bright red'?" Kratos asked, astonished.

"But you're mana is different. It's…not exactly…mana. It's something…else." Erythro continued, seemly not able to hear Kratos's question.

"What do you mean that his mana was bright red? Mana is just energy, isn't it?" Lloyd asked, repeating Kratos's question.

"Well, Lloyd, mana isn't just energy. It's the source of life. It's living and has feelings, just like you have. Why shouldn't it have color?" Erythro asked, a grin on his face. He turned and went off to tend to his own business.

"Oh yeah!" Erythro shouted back to Lloyd as he walked away. "You're Nature's Red, but you're color's White. Do you know why?" He asked.

Lloyd and Kratos just stood there, wondering how many more secrets this boy knew, but had not yet told them about.

**RS: Ah, done!**

**Lloyd: What was that that Kratos said?**

**RS: Oh, something my friend wrote. These chapters are still too short, though.**

**Lloyd: Not my fault.**

**RS: Or is it?...**

**Lloyd: What?**

**RS: Nothing…**


	4. Chapter 4: Let your eyes be Empty

RS: GOOD GOD

**RS: GOOD GOD!!**

**Lloyd: What? What's wrong?**

**RS: WHY CAN'T I WRITE A LONGER CHAPTER?!**

**Lloyd: Because you can't focus on things for more than a day at most?**

**RS: HEY- okay, you're probably right.**

**Lloyd: Anyway, pulls out slip of paper, 'Red Seraphim doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, but he does own his own character'**

**RS: Thanks, Lloyd.**

**Lloyd: Sure.**

Chapter 4: "Let your eyes be empty…"

Erythro was leaning on a bookcase in the upper part of Marble's, reading the Dwarven Vows.

"Dwarven Vow #3791: Draw your card, drink your beer, don't keep your friends waiting; they have hammers." Erythro said aloud, raising his eye-brows questioningly.

Lloyd walked into the room. "The dwarves didn't make these vows for other races. They were made specifically for dwarves. Also, a lot of the rules, my dad told me, were usually made when the dwarves were drunk." Lloyd laughed.

Erythro laughed as well. He thanked Lloyd. "-And if you ever have any questions that you think that I could answer, just ask!" Erythro said.

Lloyd chuckled to himself as he watched Erythro ran downstairs with all the energy of a thirteen-year old. Then Lloyd remembered something. He rushed after Erythro.

He found Erythro by the Palmacosta's warship, with the rest of the party.

"Hey, Erythro-" Lloyd started.

Raine looked at him with a serious face. "Lloyd Irving! Where were you? The ship's captain has agreed to take us to a port near Asgard!" She said, smacking Lloyd with the back of her hand lightly across his brow.

Lloyd looked annoyed, and followed them onto the ship. Luckily for him, Erythro was right in front of him, so he tapped the boy's shoulder. Erythro turned, a book in his hand.

"Mmm?" He said, his eyes still following the lines of type.

Lloyd was going to ask him his original question, but he was distracted by the title of the book. "Seeking Wisdom? Did you get that from Marble's house?" He asked.

Erythro shook his head, his eyes finally settling on Lloyd instead of the book. "No. It's my book. Well, technically, my granddad's book." He said.

Lloyd began to look interested. "What's it about?" He asked.

Erythro looked up into the sky for a moment. "It's about…human nature, and why we do certain things." He answered finally.

"That sounds cool!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Well, we can talk about it later." Erythro said.

"Okay!" Lloyd said, and he grinned.

Erythro shook his head in wonder.

"What?" Lloyd asked, seeing the movement.

"You really don't act like your mana's color." Erythro said. Then he turned and ran to catch up with the others.

Lloyd stayed a moment to think about what Erythro had said. Then he remembered his original question.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt beneath his feet. His head snapped up, and he saw that they were disconnecting the walkway from the ship. He felt the plank begin to fall. He ran to the end of the plank, squatted into almost a sitting position on his knees, then he sprang up and forward. To a passerby, it seemed like Lloyd's jump had been done and the boy was using wings to continue his jump.

"Shit!" He shouted. He was headed right for the side of the ship. He knew he couldn't stay conscious if he hit it at the speed his was going, and if he was unconscious in the water, he could drown.

_I-I need to get higher!_ Lloyd shouted inside of himself. Suddenly he was surrounded in a bright, white light. Then he felt a sharp pain in both of his shoulder blades, as if-.

_As if I've grown…wings… _Lloyd thought as the pain threw him into unconsciousness.

Lloyd awoke to see Erythro's face inches away from his. He yelped, startled, and pushed himself away from Erythro. Erythro continued to stare at Lloyd.

"What?" Lloyd asked, breathing heavily from his startlement.

"You're mana was Red when you jumped." Erythro said, as if it was the most natural thing to say to someone who had just awoken from a state of unconsciousness.

Lloyd sighed, exasperated. "What the hell does that mean?" He asked, sounding annoyed.

Erythro sighed. "It's hard to explain." Erythro said.

Lloyd sat up and put his arms around his knees and sat attentively. "Try me." He said.

"Okay, fine. The color of you're mana is shown from you're neruo-elections vibrating the outside anti-matter that surrounds you, and when the too come together, it creates a constant energy wave that, when looked at through a special, internal lens from another person, shows a specific color." Erythro said.

Lloyd sat there with a complete look of 'I-thought-that-I-could-understand-what-you-just-said-but-I-sure-as-hell-didn't'.

Erythro sighed. "Basically, your mind," He began again, pointing to Lloyd's head. "Sends information to dark-matter, and that creates a sort of invisible field around you that is invisible to the naked eye, but it can be seen through eyes of a person that has a certain sort chemical in them." Erythro said.

Lloyd looked still a little confused, but less so than before. "What's dark-matter?" He asked.

Erythro sighed again. "It's kind of like…an absence of matter, like the matter in the space that it takes up was replaced by an invisible, but undoubtedly real substance." Erythro said, trying to keep his explanation as simple as possible.

Lloyd seemed to consider this explanation. "How do you know that it's there if you can't see it?" He asked.

"How do you know the wind is there?" Erythro asked.

Lloyd seemed to understand this explination. Then he seemed to be considering another question. "Could I learn to see people's mana like you do?" Lloyd asked.

Erythro seemed startled by this question. "You don't want that." He said quickly, and then he ran out of the room.

Lloyd got up and followed him. He looked left and right, then he went up on the stairs on his left. He saw Erythro standing on the very edge of the bow of the ship.

"Hey, Erythro! Come down from there!" Lloyd shouted.

Erythro turned slowly, and walked calmly down to Lloyd. "Fine, I'll teach you." Erythro said.

Lloyd seemed a little dazed at the subject swing, but he nodded eagerly.

"Turn and face the other way and look at someone." Erythro said.

Lloyd did so.

"Now, this next instruction will be a little confusing, so just do what you think it means. Empty your eyes." Erythro said.

"Wha-" Lloyd started.

"Don't ask questions. Just try to do what I say." Erythro said.

Lloyd sighed. Then he closed his eyes.

_Empty your eyes…_ He thought…

**RS: Yes! Three pages in Word!**

**Lloyd: Good job, Red.**

**RS: Thanks, Lloyd!**

**Lloyd: Sure. Read and review. It's what inspires Red Seraphim to continue writing!**

**RS: Yes it is!**


	5. Chapter 5: Lost is never Found

**RS: I think that the best reviews that I get are from freakyanimegal456. Thanks, Freaky!**

**Lloyd: She said she was confused about the last chapter though…and she's the only one who reviews this story.**

**RS: Yeah, but the last chapter is supposed to be slightly confusing.**

**Lloyd: You're confused too, aren't you?**

**RS: Yes, I am. I'm that good. Now, read the disclaimer.**

**Lloyd: Sigh, 'Red Seraphim doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, but he does own his own character'.**

Chapter 5: Those who are Lost and shall never be Found

Lloyd saw only darkness at first. But then, he started to see, if that was what it was called. He could sense all of the people on board, even those that he could not have seen even if he had had his eyes open. He sensed even those under his feet, in the cabins. He tried to create for himself forms that he could see with this heightened _sixth-sense_, as it were, but he could only form dark shapes, in the form of humans, but without faces or any features at all. Inside each of the shapes were lights of varying colors, but Lloyd noticed something odd about them.

_They have…faces? No…yes, yes they do…_ He thought.

The faces changed, as normal faces usually do, but Lloyd saw something. They did not have happy or even content expressions. The faces were contorted, twisted into expressions that were the very incarnations of pain, misery, despair, and sadness. Not one face was smiling, or even utterly neutral. All were of terrible sadness…

Lloyd blacked out.

Kratos and Raine both were attending to Lloyd, who had been brought to them, unconscious by Erythro.

"What happened to him, Erythro?" Raine asked.

"He was seeing people by their mana. He must have seen the Faces." Erythro said.

Kratos looked up. "How did he know how to see mana? It's not something that anyone knows how to do in this world, and I doubt that he simply found it out. That sort of meditation takes serious concentration, and personally, I think that he has the attention span of-" Kratos said.

Raine spoke the rest for him. "-a doorknob. Yes, I've tried to help him focus, but he just can't seem to get the hang of it." She said.

Erythro smiled. "He caught on to seeing mana extremely quickly. Maybe if you added an interactive part to all of you're lessons, you may have more success in teaching him the subjects that he fails at." Erythro said.

Raine frowned. "I'm not sure that even that could get him to understand my lessons."

Erythro shrugged.

Kratos spoke again. "Why did you help Lloyd to see mana? You should have known what would happen." He asked.

Erythro shrugged and looked to his left. "He wanted to know. I taught him. Without someone to lead him into the proper trance, I don't think that he could achieve that state. He could try for most of his life, but it will probably always be just beyond his grasp. Like a dream." He said.

Erythro turned to leave. But he turned and saw that Kratos had gotten up and was staring at him.

"What?" Erythro asked.

"Can we continue to talk on deck?" Kratos asked.

Erythro nodded and continued out onto the deck. Kratos followed him. When they went to the open air, Kratos took a deep breath, sighing as he tasted the ocean air. He sat down and put his feet up over the edge of the barrister. He patted the space on his left, indicating that Erythro should sit beside him.

Erythro sat down. "What do you want to talk to me about…Kratos-dono?" He said.

Kratos looked at him, astounded. "H-how did you-" Kratos stammered.

"Oh, you know," Erythro said, winking at Kratos slyly. "When you've been captured by Desians for a year or two, you eventually just learn somethings. They constantly referred to the 'angels' and 'Cruxis'. Also, they were also constant in their jealously of the 'Four Seraphim'. Yuan, Kratos Aurion, and…Mithos Yggdrasill." He said.

Kratos's gaze went to the ground. "You know about that then, do you?" He asked quietly.

Erythro put a reassuring hand on Kratos's back. "There was nothing that you could have done for her, Kratos. She knew that. Also," He said, looking out to the sea again. "she knew that who and what you were. She knew that you were one of the Four Seraphim. Does that tell you something?" He finished.

Kratos looked down, and then Erythro heard a sobbing sound coming from the form of Kratos.

Erythro stood up on the railing. He looked confused, as a boy might when he doesn't know what to do to comfort a man who is weeping in front of him. Eventually, Lloyd came out.

"Hey, what's up with Kratos?" Lloyd asked Erythro, a concerned look on his face.

Erythro looked from Kratos to Lloyd, then gave a sort of half smile at both of them.

"Lloyd," He said. "Do you remember what you saw when you had the power to see mana?" He asked.

Lloyd thought for a moment. "Faces…sad faces." He said, then he gave a small shudder.

"Yes. Well, let's say that Kratos was one of those faces. He lost someone a long time ago. And if there's one thing that people are going to eventually learn in life, it's this: those who are lost shall never be found again." Erythro said.

Lloyd seemed to be turned downcast by this speech. But Erythro wasn't finished.

"That doesn't mean that we should forever lament the loss of our loved ones. It means that we should cherish everyone that we have left, and when they are all gone, we should remember all of the happy memories that we have of them. Because the mana you saw…it wasn't just those peoples sad faces that you saw." Erythro said.

Lloyd seemed about to question what that meant, but just before he was about to, he stopped, then he nodded, showing that he understood.

The next day, the ship landed near the port of Asgard. As they got off, Lloyd and Genis turned to Erythro.

"Are you going to keep traveling with us? Or a you going out on your own?" Genis said.

Erythro shook his head. "I think it's time to go back to where I came from. Back home." He said, with a fondness of those who are thinking of home.

"And where is that?" Lloyd asked, a smile creeping onto his face.

Erythro looked at a passing cloud. "Oh, you know," He said, giving Lloyd a sort of ironic smile. "On roads that no one has ever walked upon before. On the other side of the sky. The third side of the earth."

Lloyd laughed approvingly. "But how are you going to get there?" He asked.

Erythro smiled at him. "The way I've always done it." He said.

Genis and Lloyd smiled, content with the information.

They turned and walked away. But Lloyd felt a sort of breeze. A breeze that was not made of wind. He turned to look at Erythro.

But Erythro was not there.

**RS: Oh, that was a good ending.**

**Lloyd: I don't think that that fit the story well.**

**RS: Shut up. I can't write another chapter for this. That would just be rambling.**

**Lloyd: Don't you just ramble anyway?**

**RS: Yes, but it's harder to ramble when you're on chapter 68 and they're still talking in Asgard.**

**Lloyd:…**


	6. Chapter 6: Mithos can finally see

**RS: Well, I decided to make this possibly, almost maybe, kinda sorta the last chapter.**

**Lloyd: Wasn't the last one the final chapter?**

**RS: Yes, but I don't think that it was the best.**

**Lloyd: You're afraid of your reviewers?**

**RS: …I don't like to disappoint people. Now read the disclaimer.**

**Lloyd: (Sigh). 'Red Seraphim owns nothing but his own character'. You need for confidence in your own judgment.**

**RS: Yeah…anyway, this chapter takes place when they are fighting Mithos.**

Chapter 6: Mithos can finally see them…

"Lloyd! Watch out!" Genis shouted.

Lloyd turned just in time to see a shower of Mithos' light spells coming toward him. He jumped out of the way, but his back was scraped by one of the light beams, and he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely, but he hardly paid attention to it. He had several wounds like it already.

"This shall be your grave, Lloyd Irving!" Mithos shouted. His hand glowed as he prepared to hurl another light spell at the swordsman.

Lloyd flopped his body down, back on the ground. He ignored the pain and shouted at the top of his lungs to Zelos. "Zelos! Now!"

Several light shots went over Lloyd and got a direct hit on Mithos. Followed by three fireballs. The young, blond maniac cried out, dropping his hand, losing the spell.

"Regal!" Lloyd shouted.

Mithos turned, and found the ex-convict's foot only a few inches from his face. Which, instead of ducking, he opened his mouth in astonishment. The strike sent him backward a couple of feet. Where Presea was waiting. She swung her ax at him, and it was only from his quick reflexes that he was able to avoid getting his head cut off. Presea tried to swing her ax again at him, but he shot her with a light shot, which knocked her down.

"Mithos!"

Mithos turned and saw Genis, his body surrounded with a fierce blue light.

"Don't touch her!" He shouted.

Mithos looked around, looking for where magic would be flying at him. But there was none. He sighed, glowing with the thought that this child could not attack him.

"Can you not attack me, Genis? Can you not attack one of your 'best friends?" He asked, taunting.

He was somewhat disconcerted to see that Genis had a strange smile on his face. Mithos could have sworn that it was a smirk.

The light around Genis grew brighter and bigger. "TSUNAMI!" he shouted. The mana flew from him, in giant waves of bright blue. Each one hit Mithos like a brick wall.

He fell to the ground, not because he was terribly injured, but from the mere fact that that boy could perform that kind of magic. He got up hastily, only to find Sheena Fujibayashi standing in front of him. He sneered at her, but then saw that she wasn't really looking at him. He turned around. Twelve guardians were floating behind him. He gaped at her.

She smirked back at him.

After the attack of the twelve guardians, Mithos was unsure how much longer he could last in this fight unless he could do something to heal himself.

_Or unless I can kill them all…_ Mithos thought. He began to scan his mind for an idea, but was interrupted by a charkarm coming very close to cutting off his head. He ducked, and then glanced to see who had thrown the frisbee-like weapon. Then he saw the Chosen of Sylvarant.

"That accursed Chosen!" He muttered to himself. He began to prepare a light spell, but then he saw what the 'accursed Chosen' was doing.

She was chanting a spell, and she seemed to be glowing with just as much mana as Genis had when he had done that attack a few moments ago.

"Let us defeat this evil, maniacal villain, who has strayed from thy path of goodness and truth. And…" Collette said, furrowing her brow in deep thought.

Mithos smirked. She had forgotten the chant. Her spell would be lost, and she would die from that 'holy' power that she employed.

Collette opened her eyes and looked at Mithos. He was expecting to see her cower in fear, but she smiled at him.

"Sorry." She said simply.

The light erupted from her, transforming itself into a legion of pure white lights, in the form of shining angels. Each one held a pair of charkarms, and they rushed Mithos.

He blew about half of them away with his light spell, but he was attack about a dozen times by the time he could finish the rest of them.

He chuckled to himself, as he surveyed them all. "One would think that you all just planned this!" He laughed.

Then he saw Lloyd rise, fully healed. He drew both his swords as he rushed Mithos, yelling as he charged.

Mithos simply put his hand between himself and Lloyd, his hand brimming with light energy. He didn't wait for a full charge, but began to rapidly shoot rays of light at the incoming swordsman. Lloyd tried to dodge them, but Mithos had anticipated that Lloyd would try to jump out of the way, so he began to shoot around Lloyd with his other hand. Lloyd did well for a while, but inevitably he was hit back by the barrage of the attacks.

Mithos laughed as all of the hero's rushed to protect Lloyd and to help him up. He continued to fire, hitting all the other seven heroes. They all fell to the attack. He began to howl with laughter as he looked at them all, bleeding profusely.

"You all thought that you could defeat me! But you can't! I'm the great Hero Mithos! You are nothing next to me!" He cackled. But he stopped suddenly, and looked down at his chest.

There was a sword point sticking out of it. He fell to the ground, revealing Kratos behind him.

"Yes, you are the great Hero Mithos. But the Hero died 4,000 years ago. You are merely," Kratos said, glaring at the limp form of Mithos. "an empty shell."

He quickly ran over to the group and used his healing arts to help Raine, then both he and she healed the group.

After they were all healed, the group and Kratos walked over to Mithos. He lay upon his back, blood slowly seeping from his chest wound. He looked at Kratos.

"You know, Kratos, I have been expecting that for about seventeen years now. I mean, you've already stabbed me in the back figuratively, so I guess this was inevitable." He stated, with a calm that none of them had really ever heard him have.

Kratos gave him a cold stare. "You're 4,013 years old Mithos, but I think that you're still a brat. You haven't matured at all." Kratos said.

Mithos looked at the wound that was still spilling blood, and then returned the look. "Well, I think it's a little late to be thinking about my maturity, Kratos."

Kratos gave a short, uncheerful laugh.

Lloyd knelt beside the fallen hero. "Do you want to see something before you die?" Lloyd asked.

Mithos glared at him. "What is it? You're grin of victory?" He asked.

Lloyd shook his head. Then he put his hand on Mithos' brow. "Let your eyes be empty." He said.

Mithos looked at Lloyd, perplexed. "Look, just do it, okay?" Lloyd said, a little annoyed.

Mithos thought for a moment and then he closed his eyes.

"_Let my eyes be empty, huh?" _Mithos thought. When he opened his eyes, he could no longer see the groups' faces. Instead, near what he imagined their hearts to be, he saw different colored lights in each of them. He gave a little gasp of surprise.

"Where did you learn to do this?" Mithos asked.

"From some kid that we met." Lloyd answered.

"The boy from the other side of the rain…" Mithos whispered.

He looked closely at Kratos' light, as well as he could from his position. He could see something inside the bright light, something like…figures?

He saw Kratos. He saw a woman next to him, who he assumed was the woman that Kratos said was his wife. And in her arms…a bundle? No, a child. A baby… Then he saw Kratos turn and look into the distance. He had a concerned look on his face. He drew his sword and put his hand on the woman's back and began to lead her away.

He shook himself, then looked into Genis' light. It showed him and Raine as small children, abandoned upon the Otherworldly Gate. Raine had a shawl that she was attempting to share with Genis, but there was too little for them to share, so she held him and draped the shawl around herself. She seemed to be softly singing to him, but Mithos could hear nothing.

"_Did I make these things happen?..."_ Mithos thought to himself. Then he finally looked into Lloyd's light. This one was much clearer than the others, especially since Lloyd was crouching right next to him. It showed the village of Iselia razing in fire. And then it went a hanging, where Mithos could see one of the four Grand Cardinals. The next seen showed the great tree destroying Palmacosta, but it was from a distance. He saw people dying, villages burning, Desians and angels killing innocents.

Mithos looked upon all of these with a dispassionate eye. He looked up to where he suspected Lloyd's face to be. "You've seen much destruction. How do you, a simple human, endure that?" Mithos asked.

The vision in Lloyd's light changed. It showed his companions. Collette cooking dinner for them all. Zelos trying to flirt with Sheena, and then Sheena giving him a smack across the face for his efforts. Presea sitting peacefully next to her house, carving a wooden charm. Raine throwing a piece of chalk at Lloyd, probably because he wasn't paying attention in class. Genis helping Lloyd with his homework. Regal, teaching Lloyd to fight with his feet. And Kratos, training Lloyd to be a better swordsman.

And then, Mithos saw something that was unexpected. He saw everyone in the world. Everyone in both worlds. Then were all looking at someone that Mithos could not see. Then, someone else came into his view. Everyone in Lloyd's group. He saw Lloyd walk forward, and mouth something very distinct.

_Look at yourself._

Mithos looked down. He saw the darkness that was his body, but he couldn't see his mana.

"_No wait…there it is. Funny how I couldn't see it. Wow, it must be as dark as…dark as…"_ Mithos thought. He couldn't let him think of it.

_As dark as the man's who killed my sister._

He began to quietly cry. He realized that why the man had laughed at him when he had killed him. He somehow had known that this would happen. When Mithos killed him, he hadn't really killed him. He had become that man.

The lights disappeared, one by one. Eventually, all that remained was one. Lloyd.

"Why are you still here?" Mithos asked through his tears.

"Because. No one deserves to die on their own. Not even you." Came the distant reply.

Mithos gained a calm composure. He blinked, and then he could see Lloyd's face. He too was crying.

"Thank you. Please destroy the Cruxis Crystal." Mithos said.

He saw Martel. She held a small door made of light open for him. She smiled at him. He went through it.

Lloyd walked out of the tower of mana. He wiped his eyes. He sat down, because he could not stop his crying. He felt a hand on his back. He looked up to see Kratos.

"Lloyd. Why are you crying?" He asked.

Lloyd sobbed out his answer. "Just…one day, Kratos. I just…want one day." He choked out.

"One day? What will happen on this day?" Kratos asked.

"One…day…when…nobody dies. I want…a day…where not one person dies." Lloyd sobbed.

Kratos looked away while Lloyd wiped his tears.

**RS:…Wow. That was…**

**Lloyd:…touching…**

**RS:…and…serious…**

**Lloyd:…wow.**

**RS:…anyway…read and review.**


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